Toward a Quantum Theory of Humor

Abstract

This paper proposes that cognitive humor can be modeled using the mathematical framework of quantum theory. We begin with brief overviews of both research on humor, and the generalized quantum framework. We show how the bisociation of incongruous frames or word meanings in jokes can be modeled as a linear superposition of a set of basis states, or possible interpretations, in a complex Hilbert space. The choice of possible interpretations depends on the context provided by the set-up vs. the punchline of a joke. We apply the approach to a verbal pun, and consider how it might be extended to frame blending. An initial study of that made use of the Law of Total Probability, involving 85 participant responses to 35 jokes (as well as variants), suggests that the Quantum Theory of Humor (QTH) proposed here provides a viable new approach to modeling humor.

The Heart of an Image: Quantum Superposition and Entanglement in Visual Perception

“…The conjunction fallacy, in the form identified by Tversky and Kahneman, was studied in quantum cognition by the group of Jerome Busemeyer at Indiana University [15,16] and also as one of many other related phenomena of a non-classical nature that can occur in human decision-making processes, by the group of Emanuel Pothos at the City University of London, at the International Centre of Mathematical Modeling of Linnaeus University in Sweden (Andrei Khrennikov), and in the School of Business of Leicester University (Emanuel Haven) [16,17,18,19,20,21]. The research into the way in which quantum models can describe concepts and their combinations, including the conjunction of concepts, was largely undertaken by the group at the Center Leo Apostel of VUB, in collaboration with the Universities of British Columbia, Leicester and Gdansk [12,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34]. In particular, the research that led to the identification of the conjunction effect in texts of the World-Wide Web [31] has been important to find a way to identify and investigate the conjunction effect in visual perception, as I'm going to describe in the following section, and has also led to a quantum model for the World-Wide Web itself, which we called the QWeb [34].…”

What Makes Things Funny? An Integrative Review of the Antecedents of Laughter and Amusement

“…Linguists have studied humor by decoding the structural characteristics of written jokes, including the situation in which the joke occurs, the characters involved, the specific words used to tell the joke, and the presence of two normally incompatible scripts (which tend to evoke simultaneity). The presence of incompatible scripts, linguists suggest, is the most critical structural characteristic determining the joke’s success (Attardo & Raskin, 1991; Gabora & Kitto, 2017; Ruch et al, 1993). Consider, again, the joke, “Did you hear about the guy whose left side was cut off?…”

Creativity: linchpin in the quest for a viable theory of cultural evolution

“…Creative ideas are sometimes conceived of as discreet, separate entities much like objects in the physical world that can we search for and select amongst [8,9]. However, models of the contextual aspects of higher cognition [18][19][20][21][22][23], including concept combination and creativity [24][25][26][27], buttressed by neural-level accounts of memory and insight [28][29][30], point to a different view. This research suggests that thoughts and ideas are not separate and distinct but exist as part of an interwoven matrix until the instant you think of them.…”